Young singer inspires Resica students

Attentively they sat, their curiosity piqued: Who was this intermediate school student that their teacher had raved about?

MARIA HORN

Attentively they sat, their curiosity piqued: Who was this intermediate school student that their teacher had raved about?

Was she really destined for stardom? Bright-eyed and brimming with questions, the fourth grade students at Resica Elementary School sat on the edges of their chairs, waiting to hear from Kate Rubino, 12, a seventh grad singer/songerwriter at Stroudsburg Junior High School.

Rubino, whose mother, Julie, is an East Stroudsburg Area School District reading and writing coach, was prepared. Her tools of the trade included her guitar, an Apple tablet, chart paper and captivating smile. Her objective: Make these students realize that writing need not be so daunting.

Musicians, screenwriters, actors, graphic illustrators, critics and authors employ writing skills that they learned and honed from school. The lesson seemed easy enough, but would the students get it?

Kate, who taps into many genre of music, says eventually she would like to end up on the country/pop charts and her inspiration comes in different forms.

"Sometimes I get a beat in my head. Sometimes I get a line. I kind of have to wait for those to come to me."

She compares her work to a diary set to music, and a dialogue. She told the class, "What would I say to this person if I could talk to them right now?"

The feelings she expressed in the songs that she performed for the class were strong, yet she says she also sings for pure entertainment as well.

Inspired by Taylor Swift, Kate expresses the angst of dealing with mean girls, social stigmas and being true to yourself. Perhaps her words will have the power to persuade young minds from falling into cliques, excluding others or creating outcasts.

Her lyrics include figurative language, skills taught to fourth grade writers. Hearing them sung by this vivacious teen was reinforcing. Yet songwriting entails the use of other literary devices such as onomatopoeia, alliteration, rhyme and personification, not to mention syllabication. She called on audience participation to help her find a synonym for the word, "jerk." Was it too strong of a word for that audience? What is the overall tone of the song? Songwriters must consider that when they create.

And when the muses are silent, Kate can turn to the purveyor of writing wisdom, her mother. A dictionary or thesaurus are necessities, but having her mother who coaches reading and writing is a mixed blessing.

"She's kind of like my editor. She lets me know if she thinks it can be improved." she admits.

Sometimes when a song won't come together, she knows what to do.

"If I get to a point that I can't elaborate on, I put it away and come back to it later."

She's building a library of ideas, lines and songs awaiting completion. She sets her journals to music.

The writing is just one factor of her musical ability. She must revise and practice performing each song. Some local venues where she performed include the East Stroudsburg Freedom Festival and the Dansbury Oktoberfest. She's been in Shawnee Playhouse productions, cabarets and competitions. If stage fright hits, she faces her fear head on. Practicing eases tension and having new song lyrics in her iPad eliminates the fear of not knowing the words.

"The more I perform, the more comfortable I become," says Kate.

Balancing school work and activities is another skill that Kate must contend with.

Her busy schedule includes dance lessons, violin, voice and local theater productions. She takes guitar as well, but has suspended taking piano lessons.

Fourth-grader Chris Cacace wanted to know how long it takes to write a song. Katie said her shortest was 20 minutes.

Rubino admits in her song, "I'm Sorry" that "I'm not a toothpick with amazing hair." But in her song, "Just Like Her," she states strongly, "I tower over you in every way." Some of these lines were influenced by behavior she observed, such as a classmate using hurtful words. But she also talks of building bridges.

Immediately afterward, students clambered for autographs and parents reported that some rushed into their rooms to jot down their feelings into songs. check out Kate's YouTube recording at katier1121.

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